Volkswagens Get Two Podium Spots at Rally Italia

Jari-Matti Latvala finished second and Sebastien Ogier claimed third at the Rally Italia Sardegna this weekend. The Volkswagen drivers finished just behind Thierry Neuville, in his Hyundai. Andreas Mikkelsen, the third Volkswagen driver, meanwhile finished 13^th.

The battle for the overall lead, though, came down to Latvala and Neuville. The two were trading stage wins all weekend, and on Saturday, they were as close as three seconds apart. Speed stages, though, proved to be better for the Hyundai and Neuville pulled away, eventually building up a lead of 24 seconds.

Mikkelsen was having a good weekend, trailing his teammate Ogier by only a few seconds before retiring from a stage with a broken track control arm after he hit a rock on Saturday afternoon, effectively ending his hopes of catching up the third place finisher.

Ogier meanwhile struggled all weekend. As the championship leader, he had to run through the stages first, when they are worst. Despite only finishing third, though, he still extends his lead in the driver’s classifications.

With a total of 132 points after six rallies, he has a 64 point lead over the second place Dani Sordo (Hyundai). Andreas Mikkelsen (67 points) drops down into third place following the Italian rally, though he’s only one point behind Sordo. Latvala, meanwhile, is in sixth place in the standings with 57 points, despite only having finished half of this season’s rallies.

Volkswagen Motorsport extends its lead in the manufacturer’s championship. It now has 178 points, while second place Hyundai only has 108.

The teams rally again on June 30 at the 73^rd PZM Rally Poland.

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